Eyes are the recurring motif of this psalm, the fourth in the series of the fifteen psalms of ascent. Look up! Look towards the heavens where the throne of power dwells; look towards every tiny gesture of whoever is in charge of your fate -- look with anticipation.
The power dynamics in this poem are seemingly clear and hierarchical but actually a bit deceiving and, like life, a bit more complex. The Feminist Theory of the Female Gaze has something important to suggest here.
The poem begins with a familiar trope - the poet looks up to the force of life, the sky-god of the ancient east, looking down from above on mere mortals. And then the allegory is expressed - down to the disturbing details:
שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֵ֭לֶיךָ נָשָׂ֣אתִי אֶת־עֵינַ֑י הַ֝יֹּשְׁבִ֗י בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
הִנֵּ֨ה כְעֵינֵ֪י עֲבָדִ֡ים אֶל־יַ֤ד אֲֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם כְּעֵינֵ֣י שִׁפְחָה֮ אֶל־יַ֢ד גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּ כֵּ֣ן עֵ֭ינֵינוּ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ עַ֝֗ד שֶׁיְּחׇנֵּֽנוּ׃
A song of ascents.
To You, enthroned in heaven,
I turn my eyes.
As the eyes of servants follow their master’s hand,
as the eyes of a maid follow the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are toward the ETERNAL our God,
awaiting divine favor.
Ps. 123:1-2
From the human eye looking up toward divine presence, the poet goes on to address the way all workers look towards their boss for instruction - and then gets gendered: Why the focus on a female maid servant and her female mistress?
Is this another case of classical misogyny depicting the so-called lowest human on the social ladder - a female slave - looking up with dread and deference at the hand of someone just a bit higher on the ladder - their female employer? Or is there more going on here?
The feminist literary scholar Noya Sagiv suggests that it may actually be quite the opposite. She cites several examples where this Hebrew word ‘Shifcha’ - ‘maidservant’ is mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible and shows that it’s rarely about these women’s weak or helpless status. On the contrary - despite their position - they wield surprising power, influence and agency over their own as well as other people’s fates.
“The maid is aware of her power. Sometimes, by calling her ‘maid’ the diminishment removes the threat that her presence presents, giving her tools and access to information and power that her master or mistress can’t get. The maid, it often turns out, is not dependent on the mistress as much as her mistress depends on her. From a literary point of view, this is an image that goes upside down. You’d think this is about the radical dependence of a servant on her mistress - but actually it’s the other way around. And what does this say about the metaphor? Is this about the relationship of the Jewish people and their God?”
Sagiv leaves this last question open, but her question is already echoed by Midrash makers some 1,800 years ago.
The rabbinic work ‘Midrash Sifrei Devarim 346:2 comments on the first verse of this psalm, linking it to the verse from the previous psalm -- noting the power that people have over how or what the divine is or how it is depicted:
"To You I have raised my eyes, Who dwells in Heaven." If not, I would not dwell in heaven. Here, too, "together, the tribes of Israel" — when they are one bond , and not when they are of many factions. Thus, "together the tribes of Israel."
In other words -- the people of Israel look up to heaven where the throne of God exists. But it is only our gaze that guarantees that God is present in the first place. It’s our stories, faith and narratives that ensure the eternal presence of the divine! This radical notion that flips the order on who’s in charge is completed by the rest of the teaching: If we stick together, then the godhead will persist protecting us as well. But if we split up and let discord divide us -- there will be nothing to look forward to, and no throne of glory up in the sky.
The eyes look up towards the heavens, the horizon, beyond the hills, to watch each move and gesture that will dictate our path. But it’s our eyes, the maid who knows how to handle what's needed, that may actually determine what’s yet to become. This surprising and powerful nod to human agency in how we can better imagine our world leaves us with responsibility -- wherever we are on the social ladder or the human hierarchy -- there are options, agencies, and responsibilities for each and every one of us. Sometimes it’s on us to flip things up - and determine the narrative, even the existence of the divine.
As below - so above.
Take a good look at what you’re looking at and who you are looking to for cues. Maybe it’s time to take ownership of the gaze, the status quo, and the presumed power dynamics? How can we each look at each other with more kindness, equal in the eyes of what’s below and above?
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